Monday 26 October 2026 · Edition of the day

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The Skeptic's Daily

The day's biggest stories, taken apart. For each one: what is actually established, what is only asserted, the questions worth asking — and a plausibility score for the central claim, given everything currently known.

Stories
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Average plausibility
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It rates how well the core claim is evidenced — not how important the story is, nor whether it is good or bad news.
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01HealthNorth America

US measles cases more than double last year’s level, NPR reports

CDC figures support NPR’s national headline, but the supplied evidence does not separately verify Pennsylvania’s exact count or its worst-hit ranking.

NPR reports that US measles cases have more than doubled last year’s total and identifies Pennsylvania as the worst-hit state, with at least 1,338 confirmed cases across 44 counties. The supplied CDC excerpt lists 4,588 confirmed cases through October 22, 2026, compared with 2,289 in all of 2025. CIDRAP reports the same national tally, citing the CDC.

What holds up

  • ✓The national comparison checks out against the supplied CDC figures: 4,588 cases are 10 more than twice the 2025 total of 2,289. This compares part of 2026 with all of 2025, not matching year-to-date periods.
  • ✓CIDRAP’s latest report matches the CDC tally. That supports accurate reporting of the agency’s numbers, but it is not a separate count of infections.

What doesn't yet

  • ?NPR attributes Pennsylvania’s 1,338 cases across 44 counties to the state health department. No excerpt from that department or current state-by-state comparison is supplied, so the exact count and worst-hit ranking remain less firmly supported.
  • ?Source breadth is limited: the substantive current evidence comes from NPR, CIDRAP, and the CDC. Only a few newsrooms are represented, and other accounts may be missing; KFF’s briefing repeats CIDRAP, while NPR’s listing repeats its own report. These excerpts are not full-article verification.

Ask before you share

  • →Does Pennsylvania’s latest health department update confirm at least 1,338 cases across 44 counties, and what is its reporting cutoff?
  • →Do comparable state totals support calling Pennsylvania the worst-hit state by confirmed case count?

Sources & original reporting

  1. [1]NPR · Published 25 Oct 2026 · npr.org
  2. [2]NPR · Published 26 Oct 2026 · npr.org
  3. [3]Kffhealthnews · Published 26 Oct 2026 · kffhealthnews.org
  4. [4]Cidrap Umn · Published 23 Oct 2026 · cidrap.umn.edu
  5. [5]Cdc · Published 23 Oct 2026 · cdc.gov